AAAS Scientific Responsibility, Human Rights and Law Program

View Alerts By > Case | Date | Country | Victim

AAAS Human Rights Action Network

FACTS OF THE CASE:

In February 2005, the Russian Security Forces (known by their Russian acronym, FSB) detained and interrogated Dr. Oscar A. Kaibyshev on possible espionage charges related to exporting dual-use technology to South Korea that is technology that has both civilian and military purposes.

At the suggestion of a colleague, Kaibyshev has retained Yury Gervis as his representation in court. A graduate of the Investigative Faculty of the Soviet Union KGB High School, F. E. Djerjinski Institute, Gervis previously defended Valentin Moiseyev, a Russian diplomat also accused of spying on behalf of South Korea. Gervis resigned in 1993 from the investigation department of KGB-FIC (Federal Investigation Committee) after a decade of service. He is reported as saying of the FSB, "There is nobody to catch real spies, and therefore the FSB is making spies from people of public professions, who communicate with foreign organizations on their work. There is another trend - all 'espionage' cases are conjectural, weakly backed by evidence, and are all top secret in order to conceal errors and follies."

In Oscar Kaibyshev's case, he is convinced that his arrest and trial were instigated an old colleague who wants to gain control of the profit from Kaibyshev's patents, and has used connections with the FSB to attempt to pressure Kaibyshev into giving him the patents. Dr. Kaibyshev is the former Director of the Institute for Metals Superplasticity Problems (IMPS), a division of the Russian Academy of Sciences, one of Russia’s leading research and development centers in materials science and processing. If found guilty, Dr. Kaibyshev faces a ten-year prison sentence. In addition to possible criminal charges, Dr. Kaibyshev was also fired from IMPS on 18 January 2005.

Kaibyshev requested to return to his old post at the institute in a hearing before the Superior Court in Ufa on 24 March 2005. Kaibyshev and his lawyer appeared in court to plead their case, but the presiding judge refused to listen to their plea, saying that he is familiar with the case, and reading from a prepared paper, rejected the plea. Kaibyshev has reported that old colleagues of the scientist are under pressure by the FSB to testify against Kaibyshev in the upcoming hearing. The trial, whose dates are not yet established, will be filmed.

(Sources of information for this case include: Le Monde, Moskovski Komosomolets-Ufa, Agentura.ru and Versia, and correspondence with Kaibyshev’s family and friends.)

RELEVANT HUMAN RIGHTS STANDARDS

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

• Article 19(1): Everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference.
• Article 13: An alien lawfully in the territory of a State Party to the present Covenant may be expelled therefrom only in pursuance of a decision reached in accordance with law and shall, except where compelling reasons of national security otherwise require, be allowed to submit the reasons against his expulsion and to have his case reviewed by, and be represented for the purpose before, the competent authority or a person or persons especially designated by the competent authority.
• Article 22: Everyone shall have the right to freedom of association with others.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

• Article 19: Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.
• Article 20(1): Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Please send faxes, letters, or emails:

• Expressing your concern about the FSB investigation of the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Metals Superplasticity Problems (IMPS) and its director, Dr. Oscar A. Kaibyshev because it appears that the IMPS was engaged in legitimate scientific research;
• Requesting that Dr. Kaibyshev be removed from house arrest pending the conclusion of the investigation; and
• Reminding the government that prosecuting an individual solely for the peaceful exercise of his or her right to freedom of expression and associate is in direct violation of several human rights standards that the Russian Federation is obligated under international law to uphold, and that freedom of expression is central to the scientific mission.

APPEAL AND INQUIRY MESSAGES SHOULD BE SENT TO:

Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin
President of Russia
The Kremlin
Moscow
Russia
Fax: 011 7 095 206 5173 or 011 7 095 206 6277

COPIES SENT TO:

Yuri V. Ushakov
Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the United States
Embassy of the Russian Federation to the United States
2650 Wisconsin Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20007
Fax: (202) 298-5737
Salutation: Dear Mr. Ambassador

Please send copies of your appeals, and any responses you may receive, or direct any questions you may have to Victoria Baxter, AAAS Science and Human Rights Program, 1200 New York Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20005; tel. 202-326-6797; email vbaxter@aaas.org; or fax 202-289-4950.

The keys to effective appeals are to be courteous and respectful, accurate and precise, impartial in approach, and as specific as possible regarding the alleged violation and the international human rights standards and instruments that apply to the situation. Reference to your scientific organization and professional affiliation is always helpful.

To ensure that appeals are current and credible, please do not continue to write appeals on this case after 90 days from the date of the posting unless an update has been issued.

Main | CSFR Letters | Science and Human Rights Program